


Unrest

by TheRisu



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Family Feels, Interspecies Romance, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 06:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRisu/pseuds/TheRisu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few steps back. Karkat is still dealing with the slightly unusual and untrustworthy issue of having an alien spouse while his society is still a little unstable after almost ending in extinction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unrest

**Author's Note:**

> Despite being in this series, this work in particular belongs to a separate timeline in which Karkat would stay in Alternia to aid during its slow restoration after the impact the game left on it, and Jade stays with him. Tegmin was actually the result of one of Karkat's many breeding experiments, and since her life would be rather troublesome in this delicate situation, her father/creator ponders about sending her to Earth... to be raised by a human lusus, you could say.
> 
> I'm still including it since it is related to Tegmin. Also, I apologize for kinda breaking the chronological order I was trying to keep with the rest of the stories. Either way, hope you like this one too.

_Forget the pain._

_Go ahead._

_Do it for her._

_For them._

That was what he would always repeat to himself, at the end of every day. It was starting to become hard to endure, but he knew he couldn’t give up. Not after all the things he had done throughout all those years, not after so much effort…

 

“Nobody trusts you”

 

And even though everything seemed to be over for a moment, there was still a long path.

 

“We never did, actually”

 

Something that he definitely had seen coming, but refused to accept out of mere stubbornness.

 

“Do you really think we don’t know? About what  _you_  did?”

 

But now it was happening. Right in front of his face.

 

“You were the one who unleashed it. You unleashed this eternal damnation and now we all have to put with it”

“…”

 

He could gladly blurt out so much rambling about why that was bullshit, but he just couldn’t. He would just stay still and stare deeply into the attacker’s eyes, remaining silent but still telling him how idiotic he was with his glare. If he knew. If he  _fucking_  knew. It was obvious that he only had heard what he wanted to hear.

 

“Your group was the one with the highest rate of deaths.  _Eight_  of them”

 

He was clenching his fist. It was so awful to just listen to that ridiculous amount of stupidity without replying. Yes, maybe Kanaya was right, maybe it was pointless to make a scene of unnecessary violence that could cause an even worse case of distrust but…

What the heck, why would he have to still worry about that when they never had trusted him in the first place?

 

“You are a disgrace, Karkat Vantas. The most pathetic and disgusting scum in the whole universe”

 

No. This wasn’t about trust. Trust didn’t even exist there. The only reason for which he hadn’t beaten the shit out of that highblooded jerk –who clearly thought he could say all that bullshit just because of a undoubtedly stupid blood tone question– was because it wasn’t worthy. A jerk like that would never be worthy of his sacred rage. Alright, not even he himself believed that. He just was keeping a promise. The promise of not making a fuss out of trivial things he could regret later. It might seem serious, but it was just some pretentious asshole trying to guilt trip him. He could handle it. He had to keep the promise. The promise was way more important than anything.

 

“Or do you deny it?”

 

And now he was clenching his teeth.

 

“ _I don’t_ ” he mumbled.

 

The attacker raised an eyebrow.

 

“You’re lying. If you truly agreed with this, you wouldn’t even be still here”

“Maybe I am concerned about the future of my race”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business anymore”

“…”

“Don’t you see? You’ve already done enough. Your commitment with what used to be your race is over. The only thing left for you is to depart. Take the remains of your dignity, and your heinous bride, and go aw-”

“ _I am going to do whatever the fuck I want_ ”

 

That was it. That was all he could stand.

The highblooded jerk’s back bumped against the wall, as Karkat grabbed one of his wrists, and the collar of his shirt with a menacing amount of strength.

 

“Do you… really like being a nuisance…?”

“Yes, I do. It’s great. It’s the most fucking amazing thing ever to see how everyone always stare at you and judge you, and it’s even better to know none of them trusts you, after trying so hard. It’s a really glorious feeling you must be envying at the moment, but it has nothing to do with  _her_. So go nuts, say all the superfluous shit you want, I couldn’t care less, but leave  _her_  out of this. Heard me?”

“That’s why I know you’re not as concerned as you believe to be, because if you were,  you wouldn’t be doing something as inconceivable as devoting your heart to a treacherous foreigner”

“I said  _leave her out of this_ ”

 

The attacker sighed.

 

“But  _she_  is the problem, Karkat. In spite of your past mindless acts, and all the damnation you caused, I still could give you the chance to redeem yourself, but  _not_ with  _her_  in your arms”

“This is the most pitiful case of fear of the unknown I’ve ever seen”

“Fear of the unknown or wise caution?”

“For fuck’s sake…”

“There’s nothing else to do, if you keep being this obstinate about the matter, so I’ll just go straight to the point”

 

Now the highblooded jerk was the one who was grabbing him with a menacing amount of strength, burying his almost claw-like fingers in his nape, as he pulled him closer, his voice now turning into a whisper.

 

“You  _cannot_  stay with  _her_. You either  _let her go_  or  _go the fuck away with her_. But if you go on with your obstinacy,  _she_  will have to  _die_ ”

 

The red blooded one’s pupils contracted abruptly, as the mention of death itself reached his ears. He seemed to stop thinking, to let the violent stream of emotions that was being released take over his body.

Thereupon, a sharp sickle grazed the highblooded jerk’s face.

 

[…]

 

“What happened…? What happened…!?”

“I wish I knew!”

“Everything was already like this when I came!”

“Get away…! Don’t move it!”

“But… really… what happened?”

 

But no one would ever know. All those newcomers got to see was several bright red and purplish stains and a slashed, yet still alive, body on the ground.

 

“May I ask how did you get into this?”

 

That was the first thing Karkat got to hear. Then he opened his eyes and found a worried, or rather upset Kanaya bandaging his wounds.

 

“Although it does not even matter that much anymore. Besides, I think I can figure by myself”

 

He groaned quietly, as she sighed.

 

“You will be okay. For now. But it might be better to stay here and try avoiding the others for a while. I am afraid their reaction about this incident might not be entirely positive”

“ _-de_ ”

“Huh…?”

 

His right hand was reaching for hers to push it away. He didn’t want to keep putting up with that pointless healing, when the wounds weren’t even  _that_  bad. There were more important things to think about.

 

“ _Jade_. Where’s Jade”

 

Kanaya frowned slightly. She could swear he had just sounded like a bratty infant, and he clearly didn’t give a damn about the fact that he was injured. Whether the injuries were serious or not, he was still injured and it most likely had happened thanks to his temper. She didn’t even need to ask. Actually, asking before was just some kind of formality.

 

“In her room. Of course she does not know anything yet”

“I need to talk to her”

“In this condition? This is exactly what would displease her the most”

“I couldn’t care less right now. Just tell her to come”

“Are you sure…? I can always talk to her for you”

“No. This is something I have to do myself”

“Maybe you should wait…”

“I am not asking for your goddamn opinion, Kanaya. Just do it”

“…fine”

 

With another deep sigh, the elegant jade blooded lady headed to the last door of the long hallway, in search of the Witch of Space.

Jade’s room wasn’t just Jade’s room anymore. She had been sharing it with one certain specimen, born from one of the many genetic experiments of her lover. Karkat’s creations used to look like huge maggots and were always kept in jars.

This one, however…

Jade gasped, as the baby started squirming again. It was weeping faintly too. Most likely another case of night terrors.

 

“…”

 

She looked around, making sure nobody was watching, and dove her hands into that cocoon thing that was supposed to serve as a cradle. Then she held it and rocked it, humming softly. Just as she expected, the weeping began to fade out, until the little one was completely silent and curling up against her chest. Jade smiled, warmly and a bit smugly at the same time.

‘ _I can handle this’_  he had said.  _‘Don’t feel responsible just because you are its theoretical mother’_  he had said.  _‘It’s not drowning, dumbass, that liquid is what keeps it calm’_  he had said.

And still, she had managed to calm it down in just some seconds with some motherly embracing. How about that, Karkat? Ah, if he only could be there, seeing it! Dropping his jaw!

She wasn’t sure about what his idea of family was, but he definitely needed help. And that poor excuse about not feeling responsible wouldn’t work. She was responsible.  _Very_  responsible. Even though she hadn’t actually given birth to it, she would still regard it as hers. Well, hers and Karkat’s. But that still would mean she had all the right to assist in its raising.

Their views on the matter were so different that would be thing over which they would argue the most. She knew it.

 

“I have the feeling that you will have a very troublesome childhood, dear” she whispered, frustratedly, to the little creature.

“As long as you learn to work together and listen to each other, there should not be any problem” replied a familiar voice from behind.

 

Jade turned, startled, as her canine ears stood up.

 

“Oh hello, Kanaya…!”

 

The troll lady smiled lightly, at the sight of that determined mother holding her experimental child.

 

“It seems that your bond with our crossbred specimen has been strengthening” she stated, as the Witch of Space rushed to put the baby back in its cocoon.

“I’m afraid I can’t help it! It’s some… human thing, you know? Humans usually are this close with their offspring, especially females”

“I know, I know. I have been enlighting myself about the matter. Carrying life inside oneself, then giving birth… still such an outrageous, yet fascinating way of reproduction”

“Heh… I guess Rose helped with that”

“Certainly, she did. Although I do not think this human motherly bond of sorts is solely related to that, considering you did not go through it”

“I’m not… really sure, I just… like her. No, I  _love_  her. Maybe I didn’t give birth to her, but she’s still part of me, isn’t she? She’s still my baby, and I love her for that”

 

Kanaya’s smile widened, as the mother spoke.

 

“It may be hard to notice, but I am positive Karkat feels that way too”

“You think so?”

“Well, I have seen him holding her, like how you were doing”

 

Jade snickered, touched and amused at the same time just by picturing it.

 

“See, it’s something you can’t help! It comes with parenthood”

“So you do have a feeling in common, at least. That should be a good start”

“Hopefully. There are so many things he still has to learn, though… if he wasn’t so stubborn… I mean, I was fully open-minded when he wanted to teach me stuff about his society, can’t he just return it?”

“It is that outstanding superiority complex of his”

 

The Witch of Space sighed, with a bit of frustration.

 

“Anyway, speaking of the devil, he wants to talk to you” added the jade blooded one “I shall previously apologize for the trouble he got into, and the wounds he gained because of it, and beseech you to avoid getting mad at him and excuse his unruly temper issues for now”

“…”

 

Jade blinked, with a hand on her mouth, as her face adopted the most anguished and distressed expression.

 

“… _not again…_ ”

 

[…]

 

Her arms were folded. Her vivid green eyes were staring intensely at him. His auburn glare, on the other hand, looked rather downcast.

 

“So…?”

 

Karkat took a deep breath before beginning.

 

“First of all, I’m sorry. I… broke our promise”

 

Jade led a hand to her forehead.

 

“It’s okay, I knew it would happen at some point after all”

 

He frowned.

 

“And what the fuck would that mean? Are you going to tell me that you never trusted me either?”

“You’re an idiot. But that’s not a valid reason to stop trusting you. I just understand that it’s not easy for you to hold your sacred rage, that’s what I mean”

“I could have held it… I could have… I was close…”

“I said it’s okay! Although… you know what? It’s not really okay, because you keep getting yourself hurt, and it always looks like you don’t give a damn! But I do! And… sometimes I wonder if you ever think about that!”

 

He stood up abruptly from his seat at those words.

 

“I DO! I FUCKING…” but even though his wounds weren’t serious, they still could hurt enough to make him groan and sit back down “…I do. All the time”

“Then…  _why?_  Why would you still doing what they want? Why would you let them drag you into these pointless quarrels? You know they’re not worthy, no matter of what freaking blood color they have! None of that matters!”

“It DOES matter to me when they are talking about you!”

“NO! It shouldn’t matter anyway, I don’t care about what they may think about me and neither should you!”

“So you’re implying that I should just shut up and hear how all of them openly hate and denigrate you without even knowing you, and how all of them openly hate and denigrate our relationship too without knowing A SINGLE FUCK ABOUT ANYTHING?”

“None of that is worthy if you’re going to get hurt for it!”

“These wounds are nothing!”

“Nothing  _yet_!”

“And I’m not even done with them!”

“Karkat!”

“Just wait until the next time they even dare to say anything, I’m going to make them fall on their FUCKING KNEES BEGGING FOR FUCKING MERCY!”

“ _I LOVE YOU!_ ”

“…”

 

It was then that he finally stopped. It was then that his downcast, auburn glare focused completely on her. On her canine ears, folding back. On her body, shaking. And above all, on her teary eyes.

 

“I love you” she repeated, more weakly, but still making sure to remain firm “And now that I reminded you that, I need you to tell me… How much does that matter to you?”

“…”

 

He wanted to reply. He truly wanted to reply, but something was keeping him speechless. Perhaps that awful feeling of not knowing what to say at all, or the fear of actually saying the wrong thing, which was worse.

 

“Does it, by any chance, matter more than what others may say out of hate?”

“…”

“ _Does it…?_ ”

 

He stood up and approached, to then slowly wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. This made her last attempt of restraining her impending tears fail miserably.

 

“ _More than anything_ ” he whispered.

 

She, on her behalf, wrapped her arms around his neck.

 

“Then remember it. If they ever try to taunt you again, before going nuts, remember it” she said.

“But… Jade…”

 

He raised a hand to hold hers, as if silently asking both her and himself to be strong.

 

“Jade, I… I love you too”

“There, there… everything’s going to be alright, yes? Alright…”

“No… god… damnit, Jade, I should be the one saying that”

 

Jade smirked.

 

“That would be if you were the one wearing the pants”

“…that doesn’t even make sense, I am wearing pants right now and what do pants even have to do with-”

“Shhh…”

 

She had started to stroke his nape, in order to calm him down for good. And it was working. His face sure was looking less tense.

 

“Those fucking smooth hands…”

“Hey, at least I’m not strangling you. And I have many reasons to do it”

“You should have thought about that before marrying me, smartass”

“You should know I’m kidding,  _smartass_ ”

“Seriously, Harley? Do you really want to start something right now? It must be past midnight, we’re going to awaken the grub”

“I think you mean baby?”

“Whatever, aren’t both like the same thing?”

“I guess they are, for you”

 

Karkat sighed and went towards one of the many large windows of the room, followed by her, to contemplate stars and nebulas as usual. It was one of those things they would do for hours.

 

“Tegmin is growing up” he said, thoughtfully.

“Well, she’s already two months old” answered Jade, smiling tenderly as soon as their baby came back to her mind.

“ _He’s_  already two months old, indeed” he continued “Old enough to go with Egbert”

 

Thereupon, the mother’s smile immediately turned into a questioning glance, as she quickly turned to the father.

 

“Wait,  _what_? Really?”

“I wouldn’t have had any other choice, anyway”

“What do you mean…?”

“Tegmin has to go. And you have to go with him”

 

Jade gasped, as a noticeable expression of indignation appeared on her face.

 

“And leave you here…?”

“As I said, that’s all I can do”

“What made you even think I would agree with that?”

“It’s something I decided by myself”

“No! I object!”

“No, you shut up and do it because if you don’t, those jam blooded assholes are going to  _literally kill you_ ”

 

His voice seemed to fade into a broken tone as he pronounced those last words.

 

“Karkat…”

 

Jade’s hand reached for his, and got successfully grabbed.

 

“I nearly lost you once… I don’t want it to happen again”

“I…”

“You have helped me a lot, and most importantly, you have dealt with my shit for too long, and I couldn’t be more thankful, but now you have to go. And I don’t give a fuck if you don’t want to,  _you will go_ ”

“No… I won’t”

“I don’t want to get mad at you again…”

“But that’s not okay! That’s not what true lovers do! True lovers stay by each other’s side, even in the worst of times!”

“DON’T MAKE IT HARDER!”

“ _YOU_  DON’T MAKE IT HARDER! After ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS we have to go through during that DAMNED GAME that almost KILLED THE SHIT OUT OF US do you really think I can’t handle a bunch of FUCKTARDS whose killing skills must be ABSOLUTELY NOTHING compared to THE HELLHOLE FROM WHICH I SURVIVED!?”

 

That was it. It had happened. Jade had lost it.

 

“I AM STRONG, KARKAT! Seems that you keep forgetting it but I CAN BE STRONG! And if that wasn’t enough, I FUCKING LOVE YOU TOO! So I don’t give A SINGLE FUCK of what you think about this, I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Whether you like it or not, I AM GOING TO STICK TO YOU LIKE THE MOST INTRACTABLE PARASITE UNTIL THE END OF YOUR EXISTENCE AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!”

“…………!”

 

Karkat almost fell backwards. His pupils had dilated, and his jaw was looking like it was about to drop.

 

“I hope I have made myself clear” she added, instantly calmed down but still looking quite infuriated.

“…puppydog, you couldn’t have been clearer” he replied, actually sounding more strangely delighted than intimidated.

“Fine” she said, smiling again and nodding “Because that’s my last word”

“You are impossible…”

“But that’s why you love me!”

“I’m… done with you”

 

Yet, he couldn’t get genuinely mad. She embraced his neck once more, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

 

“We can do this. We made it through the deadliest game in the whole universe, so we can do this” she said.

“And even if I object you won’t give a shit, anyway” he grunted.

“Of course I won’t”

“And then  _I_  am the stubborn one”

“You could tell we both are”

“I am not  _that_  stubborn…”

“Sure, you’re not…”

“Don’t start again, Harley…”

“Alright, I stopped!”

 

And so, for the umpteenth time, Karkat sighed and went to lie down on a nearby couch. Jade sat next to him and proceeded to place his head on her lap, to resume the nape stroking.

 

“We’re going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay” she muttered, sweetly.

“As long as I have you…” he replied, sounding off, as if he was falling asleep.

 

And then the bloodcurdling cry of their baby reached their ears.

 

“…don’t look at me, you were way louder” he added, returning to his usual grunts.


End file.
